The Things You Do To Me
by sroka-x
Summary: Lily and James were meant to be. James had always known this... now it's time for Lily to find out. Plenty of Lily/James banter. Marauder era. Lily/James fic.
1. Playing with Fire

DISCLAIMER:

I don't own the Harry Potter series, or any of the canon characters... Although I do wish I owned James Potter :)

"Potter!!"  
Lily Evans' voice rang out through the Gryffindor Common room, sharp, shrill and furious. She marched across the room towards him, her hair standing on end, cheeks flushed crimson, her emerald green eyes blazing with anger, with a large leather-bound book tucked under her arm.

James, the Potter in question, exchanged a covert glance with his best friend, Sirius Black. He lay sprawled on the couch, his long lean limbs draped carelessly every which way. Smiling slightly, he returned his gaze to the well worn pages of his copy of "Quidditch Through the Ages'.

Then, she loomed in front of him, casting a shadow across the pages of his book.  
"Evans, I would appreciate if you moved out of the way, I'm trying to read'. His dark hair flopped into his hazel eyes, as he glanced up at the red-head, with a look of studied annoyance.

"Potter!" she hissed, her breathing sharp and fast. Anger was coming off her like heat waves, scorching anyone who got too close, but James was used to Lily. He wasn't afraid of her fiery temper.

"THIS isn't funny!! Fix it!"  
James looked up at her, eyes wide, the very picture of innocence.

"What's wrong, Evans, my sweet?"  
Lily took a breath, trying to calm herself before she did anything stupid... like strangling James Potter - something that would surely get her expelled.

"You know very well what I'm talking about, Potter, you arrogant prat!"  
Angrily, she pulled the Transfiguration book out from under her arm, and flicked to a random page. She pushed the heavy book towards James.

Instead of listing various spells and incantations, and proper techniques for turning teapots into tortoises, all the words in the book had been transformed to spell.... GO OUT WITH ME EVANS. GO OUT WITH ME EVANS.... over and over and over again. Not a page had been spared.

"Change it back Potter!! We have an exam tomorrow morning and some of us would like to pass"  
James paused.  
"I think you've got another admirer, Evans dear, which is unsurprising as you are exquisite, because I most definately do not have the breains to pull something liek this off'

"I'm warning you, Potter!'  
James picked up the offending book and passed it to Sirius.  
"Does this look like my handiwork, Padfoot?'  
Sirius glanced at the book, scoffing.  
"Please, it has you written all over it"

James smirked, his hazel eyes sparkling.  
"I think you may be right there Padfoot"  
Lily sighed dramatically.  
"Potter, I know it's your work, and you know that this is your work... so why this whole charade?'

"Just trying to prolong our conversation, Evans dear. Listening to you speak makes my life worth living"

Lily Evans rolled her eyes.  
"Just fix the book Potter"  
James smiled.  
"You know that I don't work that way Evans... and I'm disappointed that you think I'd give in so easily".

Lily threw her hand in the air, groaning with frustration.

"I give up!" She cast her eyes around the common room.  
"Can I borrow somebody's Tranfiguration text book, until whatever spell Potter put on mine wear off?"

Ellen Wood, one of the girls Lily shared a dormitory with, handed Lily a textbook.

"Anything to keep you from murdering James... He's so handsome" Ellen grinned at James before returning to her place by the fire, once again burying herself in Arithmancy homework.

Lily rolled her eyes in disgust. Potter wasn't THAT good-looking.

She opened the textbook, eager to get back to studying for her exam, but once again instead of spells and enchantments, all Lily could see were the same words repeating over and over, like the ravings of a madman.  
GO OUT WITH ME EVANS. GO OUT WITH ME EVANS. GO OUT WITH ME EVANS.

"POTTER!!!!" She screeched unable to control herself any longer. "Do you have nothing better to do but make my life miserable?!!!"

"Oh... I have plenty of things to do... it's just that you won't let me do them!" James winked, his voice dripping with sexual innuendo..

Sirius snorted with laughter. "Good one mate!"

"SIRIUS!!! Stay out of this! I cannot believe you enchanted all the Transfiguration books in this room, just to irritate me!!!"  
"I never said that I enchanted every book"

"Let's not play this game again Potter"  
"What game? It's the truth..."  
"Honestly Potter!!! You expect me to believe..."

And then it dawned on Lily.

"POTTER!!! You put a spell on ME!! I cannot believe you!!!" Lily shrieked in exasperation.

Sirius chortled. "Apparently, the brightest witch at Hogwarts... and it takes her this long to catch on!!"

Lily glared at Sirius, her vision blurring with anger,

"Tell me the counter-curse Potter!"

"Certainly..."

Lily breathed a sigh of relief

"If you agree to go out with me"  
Lily's face began to heat up once more, when an idea hit her.

"Ok" she replied

"What?" James sputtered in disbelief.

"I said I'd go out with you" Lily spoke, her voice calm, for the fist time that evening.

James stared at her, unable to speak.

Lily stared back, waiting for him to speak.

"So Potter.. do we have a deal? Do you want to go out with me or not?" she demanded impatiently.

"Of course" James replied eagerly.

Then apprehension and suspicion clouded his face.  
"How do I know you wont go back on your end of the deal? You do, after all, detest me"

"Oh rubbish... you're the one who's been telling me that it's all an act and that I'm just denying our love"

Lily marched up to the couch upon which James was still sprawled and planted herself right in the middle, dropping the Transfiguration textbook onto the couch..

She leaned over towards James, whispering...

"Would I be doing this, if I truly detested you, James"  
And then her lips were on his. Lily marvelled at how soft his lips were, not at all like she had expected. She shivered as his hands tangled their way into her hair and settled gently at the base of her neck. Without knowing what she was doing, Lily pulled James closer deepening the kiss. Their bodies were close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his well- muscled, Quidditch toned body. Fireworks exploded behind Lily's eyelids and a warm sensation spread through her body. Her stomach dropped as though she had just fallen from a great height. The kiss grew more intense, Lily's breathing growing rapid.  
And then she remembered who she was kissing and why.

She pulled away firmly. The whole common room was silent, all eyes on Lily and James.

James stared at her with wide, shocked eyes.  
"Lily..." His voice was somehow softer and more gentle than before.

"Hang on Potter", she shushed him distractedly.

She grabbed the textbook lying by her side, and flicked it open.

It was all there. No more 'Go out with me Evans' but real, substantial Transfiguration work.

Lily breathed a sigh of relief, and laughed to relieve the tension.

She bent over towards James, her lips almost at his ear.

"Looks like someone lost control of their magic" she whispered. her voice, low and seductive. "I thought that only happened to untrained wizards"  
"I can't help it if you make me lose control"

"Now if you will excuse me, I have some studying to do"

"Not at all Evans you cruel woman"

James' voice sounded teasing as per usual, but for a second, Lily thought she could see hurt in his deep hazel eyes. And then it was gone.

She grabbed her Transfiguration book and began moving towards the other side of the common room, where the fire and her favourite squashy armchair waited for her.  
"Evans!"

She turned around at the sound of James' voice.

He smirked at her. "Well played, Evans. Well played"

She smiled at him, her first true smile of the day.  
"Likewise, Potter. Likewise"


	2. Dream A Little Dream

CHAPTER 2. I Dreamed a Dream.

That familiar smirk was plastered all over James' face. He took a step towards Lily and surprisingly, she did not step back.

"Looks like you've finally caved, Evans', he grinned, his hazel eyes twinkling mischeviously. "For years I've been telling you that this was going to happen, and still it took you so bloody long to realise"

Instead of cursing him into oblivion, Lily smiled up at James, taking him in. He looked so good, with his white cotton shirt hugging his lean body in all the right places, his dark windswept hair sticking up in every direction and that cocky grin spread across his handsome face.

Lily couldn't help cursing herself taking so long to realise that James was right. They were inevitable and he was her one and only... and a very desirable one and only at that. A sly grin crept across Lily's delicate features. She took a step towards James, and wrapping her hands around his waist, brought her face towards his. His lips were even softer than she remembered, warm and gentle as they moved against hers. Kissing James was like kissing no one else and before long, all gentleness evaporated, as their lips began attacking each other; the kiss turning fierce and passionate. Lily gasped, as James' kisses lit every nerve ending on fire.

Unable to control herself, Lily's hands moved to James' chest, tracing the smooth muscle. Her fingers moved downwards, tugging at the bottom of the shirt. James pulled away smirking slightly, as he helped Lily removed the very shirt which was proving to be such an annoyance. His lips moved to her ear, whispering.

"Now it's your turn, Evans"

Lily blushed at the suggestion, but did nothing to stop James fingers from moving to the buttons of her blouse. Slowly, he worked his way down, button by button. Lily couldn't help but tremble every time his fingers lightly brushed her skin.

Lily didn't think she could stand much more of this. Her skin was burning at every touch, and something strange was going on with her stomach. She pulled James' dark head towards her lips, and before she could stop them, words erupted from her lips.  
"James. Take me now"

...

Lily woke suddenly, bathed in sweat. Her cheeks were flushed crimson and she was gasping for air. She hastily thrust open the curtains of her four-posted bed. Some of her fellow seventh years were already awake and getting ready for the day; these included two of Lily's best-friends, Alice McKenzie and Vera Brown. Alice and Ellen eyed their friend; her appearance causing a stir of giggles from Vera and a concerned albeit knowing look from Alice.

Lily's heart sank, at these reactions, but she ignored them, hoping that she hadn't muttered anything too revealing while she'd been asleep. She stood up, leaning on the wall to steady her shaky knees, and grabbing some clothes, marched off towards the bathrooms to have a long cold shower.

As Lily lathered her long auburn hair, she groaned with disgust. What was wrong with her? What on earth has possessed her subconscious to conjure up something like this? One kiss with James... (Potter, Potter Potter! she corrected herself sternly) and already she was having fantasies about the prat. And not just any fantasies, but ones where she could hardly stop herself from ripping off his clothes. Lily let out a small sigh of frustration. Potter was nothing but an arrogant, bullying toe-rag, and she probably meant nothing to him. He just enjoyed the thrill of the chase.  
Feeling much calmer after her shower, and significantly less hot and bothered, Lily stepped into her clothes and returned to the dormitory.

"Hey Lily", Vera grinned at her friend, as she stepped into the dormitory.

Only Alice and Vera were left in the dormitory; the other girls had already gone down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Lily smiled at her friends, trying to keep the guilty look off he face.

"Did someone have to go take a cold shower?" Vera giggled.

"I don't know what you're talking about", Lily replied, keeping her voice light.

"Oh really..."

"Yes" Lily replied firmly.

"James. Take me now!" Vera whispered, her deep brown eyes twinkling.

Lily flushed.

"You are taking that completely out of context!" she protested.

"I don't think so"

"Sorry about her, Lily" Alice interjected " Ever since she and Sirius started going out, she's been completely unbearable"

"Hey!" Vera cried out "It's not my fault that handsome brute is rubbing off on me"

"He's rubbing off on you?" Lily repeated, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Now who's taking things out of context!"

"Exactly... so whatever I might have said while I was asleep was completely innocent"

"Whatever" Vera dismissed.

Suddenly her face changed, a triumphant gleam appearing in her eyes.

Lily's stomach dropped slightly. That gleam could not be good news.

"Either way Lily... you still had a dream about James Potter!" she stated, a smug look now adorning her face.

Lily's day had gotten off to a bad start and it didn't improve as it went on. Though she did find the Transfiguration exam easy and managed to score full marks, to her greatest displeasure so did Potter, and he hadn't studied nearly as hard as she did. As she walked to her Arithmancy class, her bag had split open and her ink bottles had smashed as they tumbled to the ground, covering everything in blue ink. While she had managed to siphon off most of the ink with a simple charm, her bag and everything in it still carried a distinct blue tint.

Lily felt nothing but relief as she sat down to dinner. Propping her Potions textbook up against a jug of pumpkin juice, Lily began to read, while slowly chewing on her shepherds pie. She quickly became absorbed by what she was reading, and didn't notice when someone slid into the seat next to her.

"Only you could look this good with your mouth open, and full of food"

Lily's fork clattered onto the table, as she dropped it in shock.

She turned to face an amused James Potter.

Lily groaned. This day couldn't get any worse, she thought to herself. But she was wrong.

"So, Evans..." he began "I heard you had a dream about me..."  
"And apparently it was quite naughty" he added, his eyes sparkling with glee.

Lily blushed furiously, her face heating up.

"I am going to kill Vera!" she muttered to herself, anger seeping into her voice.

James looked concerned.

"Lily, don't be angry with Vera"

Her stomach did a backflip when he said her name.

"You know that Sirius can get anything out of any girl. He doesn't even need to try."

Lily sighed. James....Potter was right, girls just couldn't resist Sirius.

"So about this dream..."

Laughter crept back into James' voice.

Lily's eyes flashed dangerously as she gathered her book back into her bag and stood up.

"Whatever Vera told Sirius is a figment of her imagination! You were making an idiot of yourself as per usual, and I was yelling at you. And we were both fully clothed!"

Lily turned on her heel and began to march in the general direction of the Library.

"It was lovely talking to you Evans! See you for Head Duties! Maybe we can make some of your dreams into realities"

His voice followed her out of the Great Hall.

Lily sighed deeply.

When would this miserable day end.


	3. Tell Me Why

The thought of having to patrol the halls with James, caused Lily's stomach to behave rather strangely, as if she was on one of those Muggle rollercoasters. The thought of their conversation during dinner still flooded her cheeks with heat. She was embarrassed and uncomfortable, and wasn't looking forward to having to wander through the school, late at night, with the cause of her discomfort.

However, Lily was never one to dwell on unpleasantness, so promptly at nine, she packed up the Charms essay she was working on, and left the Common room, ready to meet James in front of portrait of the Fat Lady.

James was already there, patiently waiting for her to show up. Lily gave him a puzzled look, as she was usually the one who had to do the waiting.

Lily knew something strange was going on when he didn't greet her with his usual exuberant greeting, giving her a weak smile instead.

"Should we get going?" Lily asked hesitantly, unsure of what to do when faced with a James so unlike himself.

James nodded.

They began their nightly patrol, walking slowly through the darkened halls of Hogwarts, Lily leading with James lagging behind. Silence stretched between them, a silence which Lily found surprisingly uncomfortable. She had always thought that a silent James would be an improvement on the original, but she found herself missing his constant chatter, his jokes and even the stupid grin that stayed plastered all over his face whenever she was in the vicinity.

Finally, Lily couldn't take it any longer.

"Potter... What's the matter?"

James looked up at her, blinking slowly as if he had only just realised that she was there. Lily looked at him expectantly, her eyes demanding an answer.

His eyes locked onto hers, then he spoke, sounding weary and defeated.

"Lily..."

Her heart hammered in her chest at the sound of her name. Lily... not Evans but Lily.

James paused, then sighed, as if he didn't know exactly what to say.

"Why do you hate me?"

Lily gaped at him, startled. Where was this coming from? Just a few hours ago he had been teasing her as usual and now this...

James stared at her.

"What?"

"Well, when someone asks a question, they usually expect an answer"

"I thought you always had all the answers Potter"

"Not this time"

Lily cringed. He sounded so sad, she almost couldn't bear it. She had had no idea that her opinion mattered, that her disapproval affected him so deeply. Why did she hate James? She hadn't ever thought about it, just taken it for granted that she was Lily Evans and he was James Potter and she was supposed to hate him. Lily couldn't help pondering his question. She hated the fact that he got great marks without having to try. She hated the fact that everyone loved him. She hated him because he was that guy, the one with it all; popularity, great friends, money, good looks and brains.

Lily frowned at how shallow her thoughts sounded. It wasn't right to hate someone simply because they were fortunate. She didn't even know James that well; he probably had his own troubles which she knew nothing about. Lily used to have the excuse that she hated James because he was arrogant and a bully, but that no longer applied; she hadn't seen him hex Snape in a while and his head seemed to have deflated quite a bit this year.

Lily gulped. She had no tangible, logical reason to hate James Potter. Glancing up at him, she cleared her throat.

"Hate is a strong word Potter", she finally answered.

"What?" James looked confused.

"I don't hate you, you idiot" Lily explained.

"But...you've always seemed to...."

"Things aren't always what they seem James"

James blinked at her use of his first name. Lily didn't realise it, but that had been the first time she'd called him anything but "Potter" in years.  
James smiled, that mischevious twinkle back in his eyes.

Lily breathed a sigh of relief.

"So... if things aren't always what they seem, does that mean that you've been desperately in love with me for for the past six years?"

Lily laughed, surprising them both.

"I'm glad you're back to normal Potter. Now if you don't mind, I think we should hurry up and finish patrol, I've still got loads of work to do tonight"

"Why is James staring at you, grinning like an idiot.... and by that I mean staring at you even more than usual while looking like an even bigger idiot?" Alice asked

"I don't know, Alice" Lily replied, not looking up from _Defensive Magical Theory_ "Why don't you asked him?"

"Perhaps Lily snogged him during their patrol", Vera suggested giggling.

Lily gave her a scathing look, not bothering to dignify Vera's suggestion with a verbal response.  
"Ooh, silent treatment. Something must be up"

"Some of us are trying to study" Lily replied

"And some of us are trying to distract those of us who are trying to study, from studying"  
Lily groaned in frustration.

"And it looks like some of us are succeeding" Vera added, smirking.

"One more word out of you and it'll bee your last", Lily threatened "I haven't forgotten about you telling Sirius about my supposedly "naughty" dream about Potter"

Vera opened her mouth to speak, but after thinking it through, closed it again.

Lily smiled, snuggling back into her armchair, content to return to her Defence against the Dark Arts book.


	4. Help Me Understand

The next few weeks were relatively uneventful. Class, head duties, prefect meetings and busy evenings filled Lily's life. Things with James were a little awkward but not altogether unpleasant. James had finally stopped asking her out every five seconds, and Lily had learned not to dismiss everything he said so easily. Sometimes they even managed to carry on a decent conversation during their nightly patrols. Everything was slowly settling into its usual rhythm.

Except it wasn't.

The Professors seemed intent on drowning the N.E.W.T students in a flood of homework. Lily was finding the N.E.W.T material much more challenging than she had expected, and head duties were taking up much of the time she used to devote to studying. Where she had once thrived, Lily now floundered. She was falling behind fast.

Deciding that there was only one possible course of action, Lily decided to skip dinner. Though her stomach grumbled in protest, she made her way up to the Common Room for some serious studying.

Pleased to find the Common room empty, she spread out her books and began the daunting task of catching up in Arithmancy - her worst subject at present..

For a solid hour, Lily sat in the Gryffindor Common Room, hunched over her Arithmancy books, her brow furrowed in confusion. Lily bit her lip in frustration, her eyes filling with tears. Wasn't she apparently the brightest witch of her year? If that was true then why was she unable to understand anything she had read in the past hour?

Lily stared down at her Arithmancy book, willing herself not to cry. Lily rarely cried (she was more likely to blow up in anger), but she was feeling the strain of NEWTs, and the Common Room was empty, so she allowed a few tears to roll down her cheek.

Suddenly, the Portrait guarding the entrance of the Common Room, swung backwards, and James Potter stepped through the portrait hole. Lily hastily wiped away her tears and pretended to be absorbed in her book. Unfortunately for Lily, James was much more observant than she had thought.  
"What's wrong Evans? Why are you crying?", he asked, as he walked over to where she was sitting, sliding into the seat beside her.  
"I'm not crying", she replied defiantly. She didn't want anyone, least of all Potter, to think her weak.

"Come on Evans... It's me, James Potter. If you can't tell me your problems than who can you tell?", he prompted her gently.

Lily gave him a scathing glare.

"You'd be the last person I'd talk to"

James laughed softly.  
"Well, I'm the only person here, so you can't be picky"

Lily sighed, as James looked at her expectantly, his eyes serious.

She took a breath, steeling herself. James was the only other Gryffindor who was taking Arithmancy at N.E.W.T level, (with the class dominated by Ravenclaws), perhaps he could explain the material to her.

The minute this thought entered Lily's mind, she felt disgusted with herself. She would not go crawling for help to James Potter. She could not deny that she needed it... but from James Potter? Lily wasn't sure her pride could weather such a humiliation.

In Lily's mind, pride fought with practicality.

Practicality won.

She looked up at James, blushing slightly as she spoke.  
"I'm having trouble understanding Arithmancy"

James' face cleared; relief washing over his features.

"Is that all?"

Lily's face puffed up in anger.

"Thanks for not belittling my problems, Potter", she spat, her voice sarcastic.

A look of confusion crossed James' face.

"What? I just meant that I take Arithmancy... and maybe I could help?"

James' voice was hesitant.

Lily considered the proposition.

"Fine" she replied.

James looked at her in surprise. He knew that accepting help from anyone was hard for Lily.

"But this stays between us. If anyone finds out that you helped me, you'll regret it", she warned.

"Have no fear Evans. No one will ever find that you accepted help from the dashing James Potter", James replied with mock seriousness, his right hand resting on his heart.

"Shut up and help me, you prat" Lily couldn't help laughing at how sill he looked.

Fifteen minutes later, Lily and James had worked their way through the Arithmancy chapter they were currently studying, and Lily couldn't see why she had ever found the work difficult. With minimal prompting from James everything suddenly made perfect sense. Lily wasn't even sure whether it was James' explanations or just his comforting presence, assuring her that she was capable of understanding the work, that triggered her Arithmancy epiphany. Either way, Lily was grateful.

She looked up at James, smiling.

"Thanks Potter"

"No problem, Evans"

Lily's smile suddenly faltered, and she couldn't help feeling irritated. How could James do so little work and still understand things more quickly than she did?

"Evans, I see that glint in your eye... what's the matter?"

"It's nothing", Lily replied quickly.

"Evans! You can tell me!" His voice was impatient.

Lily sighed.

"I'm just irritated that you get the same marks as me and yet you do no work. All I ever see you do is read those stupid Quidditch books of yours!"

James smiled.  
"Jealous of my natural quickness?", he teased.

"A little", Lily replied grudgingly.

"Wait here Evans!", he commanded.

James leapt up from the coach they were sharing and sprinted towards the boy's dormitory.

Minutes later, he returned carrying his battered copy of _Quidditch Through The Ages_.

He handed the copy to Lily.

Lily looked up at James in confusion.

"What do you want me to do with it?"

"Open it"

Lily flicked open the book.

"Now what?"

"Read it", he prompted.

"I don't want to read your stupid book!"

"Just read it", James pleaded.

Lily cast her eyes down onto the yellowing, dog-eared pages. Instead of the expected Quidditch babble, the pages were filled with spells, incantations and complex magical theories.

"Oh my God..." Lily whispered

A smile formed on her face.

"So every time I see you reading this book, you're actually studying!"

"Not _every _time, but quite often... yes" James corrected, "You know I've got a reputation to uphold"

Lily looked up at him, her face lit with joy. All these years she had been afraid that Potter was so much brighter than her, but clearly these fears were unfounded. She could have kissed him.

"I like you better already Potter", she smiled coyly.

James' ears went pink, and a massive grin spread across his face.

Lily blushed at her own words, but they were the truth. Immature and petty as it might have been, her jealousy was one of the reasons that she had hated him so much.

Lily hesitated. She still had one more question for him.

"Potter… James… why do you even take Arithmancy? Do you like it or..."

Lily blushed even more deeply, unable to finish her question.

"Or did I just want to get closer to you?" he completed her unfinished sentence.

Suddenly a bunch of first years burst through the portrait hole.

James smirked.  
"I guess you'll never know", he answered secretively.

Within seconds, James was lounging in an armchair at the opposite side of the Common Room, seemingly absorbed in _Quidditch Through The Ages. _Hardly anyone would have guessed that he had been sharing a couch with Lily Evans for the past half hour, and that during that time she hadn't once considered blasting him into oblivion.


	5. Do You Know What I Know?

Author's Note:

I don't know where this came from... it's not my best work, but I'm setting the scene for what's to come. The good stuff is coming :)

That morning as Lily got ready for class, she couldn't help feeling a little nervous about seeing James. After what she had said to him the night before, she had every right to be.

_I like you better already Potter_

Lily blushed at the very thought. The truth was that she really had meant it. Lily did like James more now, than ever before. This still didn't mean that wanted to go out with him or that she was in love with him. Her words simply meant that she had started to see him as a friend, rather than as the bane of her existence.

Lily sighed. She hoped that Potter wouldn't take her words the wrong way, and start the ridiculous charade of asking her out constantly.  
Lily picked up her book bag and slung it over one shoulder, impatiently waiting for Alice and Vera to finish getting ready. Once Alice and Vera finally finished dressing, the girls walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

The long house tables were laden with an assortment of breakfast foods; giant platters of scrambles eggs, towering piles of toast and giant tureens of porridge. Lily sniffed the air appreciatively; after missing dinner the night before, she was famished.  
They were just about to sit down at a table when Vera spied Sirius' mop of shiny black hair. He looked up for a second and noticing Vera, gestured her over. Giving an apologetic look to her friends, Vera rushed off to sit by Sirius and his friends.  
As Lily and Alice slid into their seats, Lily couldn't help but glance over at Vera and Sirius. Her gaze drifted slightly towards the boy with the untidy black hair. His head was bent low, as he concentrated on his food. As if he knew he was being watched James suddenly looked up in Lily's direction and smiled. Embarrassed at being caught staring, Lily turned quickly towards Alice and said the first thing that came into her head.

"Vera's certainly traded up" she noted bitterly.

Alice looked at Lily in surprise.

"What are you talking about?"

"A couple of dates with Sirius and she's already forgotten us"  
"I think you're being a little hard on her"  
Lily shrugged. "I would never ditch my friends for a guy... no matter how good-looking he was"  
Alice coughed, turning her eyes back to her food, suddenly very interested in her plate of eggs.  
Lily's eyes flashed.

"If you have something to say Alice, just come right out and say it"  
Alice cleared her throat nervously, aware she was on dangerous ground.

"I don't think you should be judging Vera so harshly for spending time with a guy when you yourself spend most of your time with James"

"I only spend time with James because we have head duties together!"  
Alice rolled her eyes.  
"Of course! I'm sure that's the only reason!"  
Alice brought a forkful of scramble egg to her mouth.  
"Although it's funny how you've stopped calling him Potter. I'm sure that's not significant" she added as an afterthought.

Lily was taken aback. Alice was usually nothing but kindness.  
"I'm not sure where this is coming from Alice. Is there a problem?" Lily asked, trying to inject some calm into her voice.  
Alice gave an exasperated grunt.  
"Yes! There is a problem Lily! I am sick of hearing you complain every time Vera wants to spend time with Sirius or I want to spend time with Frank. Maybe if you finally admitted that you like James, you would have someone to spend time with as well! Just because you're unhappy with your life doesn't mean that we all need to be, so do yourself and James and everyone else a favour and stop fighting it!"  
Alice pushed her plate back and stood up grabbing her bag from the floor. She turned on her heel and marched out of the Great Hall.  
Lily was shocked.  
"What the hell?" she whispered to herself.

She picked up a spoonful of porridge and considered it before dropping it back into her bowl. Alice's words had ruined her appetite.

Had she really been making her friends unhappy? And what did Alice mean about her liking James? She did not like James!  
Lifting her eyes from her food, Lily stole a glance at James. His eyes were glued to her, concern twisting his mouth into an unfamiliar shape.  
Lily's face heated up as she realised that he must have heard their conversation. He was sitting only a few seats away and she and Alice hadn't exactly kept it quiet. She noticed his muscles tense as he considered whether to come over to her. He was so easy to read.  
She looked down at her porridge once more. It had gone cold and unappetising. She stirred the lumpy mess with her spoon, waiting. After a few minutes, she glanced up in James' direction. His head was once more bent over his food; clearly he had decided against interfering.

Lily took a few deep breaths before picking her bag off the floor. Slowly, she began to make to Arithmancy; her first class for the day. She tried to walk as slowly as possible because she dreaded arriving at her destination.


	6. Calm After the Storm

Lily was fuming. She thought that the long walk from the Great Hall to the Arithmancy classroom would give her enough time to calm down, but she just found herself getting more and more furious. Lily was so angry that she wouldn't have been surprised if steam started shooting out of her ears.

Alice was completely out of line. She had no right to suggest that Lily was trying to make her and Vera miserable and she had even less of a right to suggest that she had any kind of feelings for James.

So what if she had started to call him James rather than Potter? Did that automatically mean that she was in love with him? Alice and Vera called him James... did that mean that they were in love with him as well?  
Lily turned the corner and stepped through the door of the classroom. Most of the seats were already full of conscientious Ravenclaws, most of whom already had their notes out. Sighing, she picked a spot near the back of the classroom. Lily knew that she wouldn't be able to concentrate. She was just too annoyed with Alice.  
Lily glanced at the clock. It read 8:57. Class would be starting in 3 minutes.  
One minute later, James Potter slid into the empty seat next to Lily. He took one look at Lily's face and opened his mouth as if to say something. Just then Professor Vectra walked into the classroom and James clamped his mouth shut. Professor Vectra had the same gift as Professor McGonagall. She could make any class fall silent just by entering the room. Usually James didn't mind getting in trouble with teachers but Professor Vectra was a different story. Rather than hand out detentions, Vectra liked to hand out ridiculously difficult Arithmancy assignments to anyone who dared misbehave during her class. These assignments were the root of Professor Vectra's power, allowing her to keep troublemakers (even seasoned ones like James Potter) in check.

Lily stifled a giggle. She had never seen James' mouth snap shut so quickly. She knew that he had received several of Vectra's punishment exercises before. She remembered the ranting and pacing that had accompanied each of these punishments. One exercise drove him into such an intense state of agitation him that he kept running his hands through his hair every couple of minutes. Lily had thought he might end up bald by the end of the week. Another exercise had almost reduced him to tears. He had sat huddled in a corner of the Common Room until Sirius had been forced to threaten him with a trip to 's.  
Lily could hear Professor Vectra's droning in the background but she couldn't bring herself to pay attention. Instead, she amused herself with recounting the many other times that James had managed to earn himself a punishment exercise. Those punishment exercises were no joke.

Suddenly Lily heard the scraping of chairs. Sitting bolt upright she realised that Arithmancy had ended and most of the other students were getting ready to leave the classroom. She began packing her books into her bag when she heard Potter speak.  
"That was a really boring class" he drawled, with an exaggerated yawn.

Lily turned to him and nodded, although she had no idea what Vectra had talked about.  
"Seems to have done you some good though" James added.  
Lily raised one eyebrow.  
"What are you talking about Potter?"  
"When I first came in you looked so angry I thought your head was going to explode, but not anymore. Vectra's boring lecture seems to have had a calming effect on you", James smiled.  
Lily couldn't help blushing, knowing that she had been thinking of James for the past hour and so it was him rather than Professor Vectra who had managed to calm her down.  
"Did I really look as though my head was about to explode?", she blurted out, not knowing what to say.  
"Yes", James smiled, "but you looked very cute all the same"

Lily blushed more deeply. For some reason she felt as if she had to explain the disagreement between her and Alice to him.

"James... about what you might have heard this morning..." she began

James raised his hand to stop her.

"You don't have to explain"  
Lily was dumbfounded.

"I don't? Why?"  
James shook his head but although he didn't say anything, his eyes spoke volumes. They seemed to be saying, "I know".  
"Thanks" Lily whispered. She was grateful that she didn't have to explain the fight to James, as she didn't even know how to explain it to herself.  
"No problem" he answered.

Lily turned to leave the room, she had Transfiguration next period and McGonagall went absolutely nuts if anyone was late.

"Lily..."  
She turned back towards him. His eyes were twinkling.  
"When I'm furious at someone, I find it's best to avoid them so that I don't do anything I regret"

Lily scowled. When did he get so mature. Idiotic Marauder.

"Why don't you sit with us at lunch instead?", he continued.

Lily's heart pounded a little harder.  
"But what about your friends?" Lily managed to spit out the words.  
James shrugged.

"Sirius will be most probably snogging Vera in a broom closet somewhere. Peter's so quiet that you probably wont even notice him and I know that you like Remus and he likes you"  
His smile was warm, his hazel eyes shining expectantly.

Lily found herself nodding. "OK"

She turned and hurried out of the room.  
She could hear him calling after her.  
"See you at lunch Evans"  
And Lily couldn't help smiling.


	7. An Inflammation of the Brain

CHAPTER 7. AN INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm really happy that so many of you like the story... but I would be even happier if you reviewed! If you love it, if you hate it... if you have any plot suggestions, anything - just leave me a review :) 

The minute she walked out of the Arithmancy classroom, the smile died on Lily's lips and was replaced by a gnawing anxiety. It had been so easy to agree to sit with James Potter at lunch when he was right in front of her, smiling that cocky smile and looking at her with those warm hazel eyes. Now that Lily was no longer James' presence, things didn't seem so simple.

Lily walked into her Transfiguration classroom and slid into an empty seat in the back. She was early but a few desks were already occupied. Lily cast her eyes around the classroom searching for James, even though she knew he wouldn't be there. He wasn't exactly known for his punctuality.  
She noticed Alice sitting a few seats away, but refused to make eye contact. Lily had always been proud and forgiveness did not come easy to her. She knew that their argument had been stupid, but she wasn't ready to forgive Alice just yet  
James and his friends appeared in their seats just as McGonagall stepped into the room. Lily cursed herself for noticing - there was no reason for her to be so aware of him.  
She opened her Transfiguration text and tried to follow McGonagall's lecture. All to soon she found her gaze and her attention drifting across the room to the mismatched group of boys who called themselves the Marauders. Peter sat slumped over his desk, attempting to sleep with his eyes open. Remus' quill flew across his parchment as he took diligent notes while Sirius and James were passing a different kind of note under the table.  
Lily had always secretly envied the Marauder's easy friendship. She, Alice and Vera had always been good friends - they teased each other and helped each other study. There was nothing wrong with their friendship, but it was nothing like the friendship between James and his Marauders were more like family, with no reservations and no judgment.  
Lily tore her eyes away from the boys and tried to focus once more. She picked up her abandoned quill and began to scribble down some notes. Having a practical task to focus on helped soothe Lily's nerves. Unfortunately, all too soon Transfiguration was over and it was time for lunch.

As she walked toward the Great Hall, Lily's stomach dropped and her palms began to sweat. Was she going to sit with James and his friends? or was she going to hide in the library like she desperately wanted to?  
Lily was sure that the minute she sat down beside James at the Gryffindor table, there would be gossip. Everyone would assume that she and James were together or at the very least, that she had finally fallen for him. Lily sighed. Was she brave enough to sit by James or was she going to let other people stop her from doing what she wanted?  
Lily hesitated as she reached the entrance to the Great Hall. She took a deep breath, steeling herself. She was a Gryffindor and it was time to start acting like one.

Her gaze travelled down the Gryffindor table and fixed on a glossy black head, halfway down the table. Sucking in another breath, she began to walk purposefully towards James. He looked up in surprise as she slipped into the seat beside him, his face breaking into a broad grin.  
"I didn't think you were coming", he said.

"I almost didn't" Lily replied truthfully.  
"Oh", James' smile faltered slightly.

"But I'm here", she reminded him.  
Lily started piling potatoes and lamb chops onto her plate, when she noticed something strange. She picked up her fork and turned her eyes back to James.

"Where's your entourage?" she asked.

James' skin flushed pale pink.

"... They're in the library... studying"  
'Oh really?" Lily raised an arched eyebrow.

James nodded fervently.

"You told them to leave us alone, didn't you?"  
James hesitated.

"Maybe", he admitted.

"But you said that you didn't think I was going to come" Lily pointed out.

"I hoped you would"  
Lily blushed. She tried to cover up her embarrassment by shoving a forkful of potato into her mouth.

They chewed their food in a companionable silence, talking occasionally. Lunch with James was not the nerve-wracking experience Lily had anticipated, but she still felt paranoid. Every so often her eyes would scan the room, checking if anyone was looking at them with undue interest.  
"Worried that your boyfriend might see us?" James asked teasingly, the third time he noticed Lily looking around the hall.  
Lily snorted derisively.

"You know full well that I don't have a boyfriend. All the boys at Hogwarts are too afraid you'll hex them if you come within a metre of me"

"I don't do that anymore!" James protested.  
"What other reason could you have for looking around, with that worried look plastered all over your face?" he added.  
Lily decided that the truth was best. "I feel as if everyone's staring at us"  
"Why would people stare at us?"

Lily sighed with exasperation. "Because I'm Lily Evans and you're James Potter and we're sitting together, and I haven't cursed off you're eyebrows yet! They're all going to think I've finally fallen for you or something!"

"Would they be wrong?" James asked, grinning.

Lily blushed.

"I could be forgiven for making that assumption", James continued, "You have been spending a lot of time with me... voluntarily"

"Don't get used to it, Potter" Lily said, her green eyes twinkling, "I must be suffering from some kind of temporary insanity, but I'll get over it soon"


	8. Lets Talk About It

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
This is shorter than usual and kind of scrappy. I haven't worked on this fic in a while and I was just trying to get back into character. Thanks for the lovely reviews (which are one of the reasons why I decided to continue with this fic... the other reason being my undying fangirly love for James Potter). Hope you all like it even though it's a filler chapter - I wanted to show more of James' character and his friendship with the Marauders (esp. Sirius). Future chapters will be more action and L/J heavy - and that's a promise!  
Enjoy!

James made his way to the library, his heart lighter than it had been all year. If he wasn't very much mistaken,  
he was finally getting under Lily's skin. James grinned broadly as he stepped into the Library. He made his way through the maze of shelves. It took a few minutes of searching before James finally caught sight of the other Marauders. 

He strode towards his friends, opening his mouth, ready to tell them all about the progress that he was making with Lily, when Sirius cut him off. 

"If it isn't he who banished us to the library so that he could sup with his lady love," he said marching up to his friend, his voice accusing and full of resentment. 

James raised an eyebrow at his friend's behaviour, which was stranger than usual. 

"Why are you talking like that?" 

Remus' head emerged from behind a thick Transfiguration book. 

" He got his hands on a book from the Restricted Section," Remus grimaced,"Hopefully the spell will wear off in a few hours... otherwise we may have to kill him." 

James let out a short laugh, turning back to Sirius. 

"Since when do you read? Should we be worried?" 

Sirius thrust the battered copy of _Ye Olde Fables _ under James' nose. James' pupils widened as he took in the scene taking place on the cover. 

"Is that even physically possible?", James choked out, his cheeks flushed with embarrassed curiosity. 

"Probably" Remus responded distractedly, unwilling to look up from his work. 

James cleared his throat, attempting to shake off his discomfort. 

"At least we know why Padfoot wanted to read it so badly" he added jokingly. 

"I do like the maidens" Sirius added helpfully. 

"We know" James sighed. Sirius was his best mate but sometimes he wanted to smack him over the head... hard. 

As he walked towards the library James had felt elated, the happiness bubbling up inside him and threatening to spill over and like any self-respecting man he'd wanted to gush about his non-date date to his friends, but they just didn't seem to care. His brow furrowed, an unconscious expression of the irritation he felt. 

Sirius stared at his friend, watching the creases carve deep valleys into the skin of his forehead. Sirius groaned - James was getting the look, the one Sirius had seen many times before.  
It was the look that James had gotten when nobody had commented on the fact that he had shot up five inches over the summer holidays. It was the look he got when one of his brilliant Quidditch moves went unnoticed and it was the same look that had spread over James' features every time Lily Evans ignored him. 

Sirius shook his head almost imperceptibly. For all his outward arrogance and conceit, James could be surprisingly insecure and there was only one thing that could erase that dejected look off James' face... 

He opened his mouth and let the words spill out.  
"I would like to enquire as to the progress of your courtship of the fair ." 

As James began to animatedly recount the story of his lunch with Lily in excruciating detail, Sirius let out a sigh. The things he did for James. He was seriously the best friend a bloke could have. Pun completely intended.

But when he cast another glance in his best mate's direction and watched his features light up as he related his tales of the beautiful and smart and funny Lily Evans, Sirius couldn't help but smile. 

Sometimes the suffering was worth it.


	9. Never Starts Now

Lily was nervous. She knew there was no reason for the butterflies in her stomach or for her sweaty palms. Alice was her best friend and they had been like sisters for years. There was nothing to worry about but no matter how many times she ordered her heart to slow down it wouldn't stop it's incessant pounding. Apologies had never come easily to Lily and more than anything she was afraid that she might give away her new warmer feelings towards one James Potter. Lily didn't want Alice to know just how close to the truth she'd come this morning. 

As she stepped into the Gryffindor common room, she looked around, finally spying Alice curled up on one of the squashy armchairs in front of the roaring fire. Lily took a deep breath as she walked towards her best friend.

She perched herself on the arm of Alice's arm chair. The chair creaked slightly beneath her weight, the soft sound causing Alice to look up from her book. 

"Lily..." Alice's voice was apologetic, "... About this morning, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said any of the things that I said. I didn't - " 

" You don't have to apologise, Alice" 

"I don't?" Alice's brow knitted in confusion. 

"No." Lily continued " I'm the one who should apologise. You were right and I didn't like it so I snapped at you."  
Alice's eyes widened with disbelief. 

"So you and James are...?" 

Lily flushed."Not about that part. I was annoyed because you and Vera both have boyfriends and I don't and you've both been spending so much time with them and it made me jealous. I was just tired of being alone all the time. I was being selfish and petty and I'm sorry for taking it out on you. " 

"You don't have to be alone, Lily. James would - " 

Lily shot her a warning look, cutting her off mid-sentence. 

"Potter and I are NEVER going to happen. I detest him!" 

The words shot out before she had a chance to swallow them and the minute they left her lips she regretted ever opening her mouth. She didn't mean them, not in the least, but the words came out sharp and cutting. Lily was just so used to insulting James, so used to shooting him down, that the words came out without thinking. It was just a defence mechanism, a way of keeping Alice in the dark and a way to reassure herself that she was still the same Lily Evans she had always been. It was just her luck that her defences always fired at the wrong time. 

Seconds after she'd said the words, she heard the familiar clearing of a throat coming from behind her. 

"Erm... Evans. We've got patrol" 

Lily's stomach sank. She wasn't Lily anymore. She was back to being 'Evans'. That shouldn't have hurt so much but it did. 

Lily jumped up from her seat, muttering a hurried goodbye to Alice before following James through the portrait hole and into the corridor. She had to explain. She needed to make him see that none of it meant anything... and that 'never' was now 

"James..." she began, her voice pleading. Lily was surprised at the desperation suffusing every syllable. Why did she sound like that? Lily Evans never begged for anything. 

James ignored her. 

"I have a lot of homework to catch up on and I'm assuming you do too, so it'll be quicker if we split up. I'll take the East wing and you'll take the West. That way we'll be done in half the time and you can get back to your friends," James announced, refusing to look in Lily's direction. 

Lily opened her mouth, ready to apologise, to make him understand that she hadn't been toying with him these past few days, but the ice in his voice made her choke on her words. 

"I'll see you later Evans," he said as he stalked off towards the East Wing, leaving Lily standing alone in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, wondering when their roles had reversed. When had she become the one who had to do the chasing? 

The next few patrols went much the same way. Lily kept waiting for James to say something or even to just look at her, but he never did. Every time she approached him, he'd pretend not to notice. Lily never thought she'd miss the days when James Potter would bug her incessantly but she did.- anything was better than his cold silence, anything was better than being ignored. Their patrols were silent affairs, leaving Lily feeling guiltier and guiltier after each one. She was painfully aware that her fear and her sharp tongue were the cause behind the recent Potter-Evans schism and she knew she had to fix things.

A week passed before Lily managed to muster up the courage to confront James Potter on her own terms. Lily thought that it should have been easier to find the courage to right her wrong but even Gryffindors weren't fearless and James Potter's wounded silence was a formidable thing. 

She spent the day waiting for an opportunity to corner him. Getting James alone was more difficult than she had anticipated.

She finally got her chance after their afternoon Potions class. James had stayed back after class talking to Slughorn. Lily couldn't hear much from her place by the dungeon door, but what she did hear made her think their talk was not about extra Potions help but about some prank that the Marauders had pulled on Lucius Malfoy. Lily sniggered. Malfoy had probably deserved whatever he got. He was a git, if there ever was one.

A few minutes passed before James walked out of the room. He walked passed without even noticing her. 

Lily cleared her throat, gathering that famous Gryffindor courage 

"...James?" Her voice sounded more hesitant than she would have liked but at least she'd spoken. 

James turned towards her, his eyes full of hurt, anger and surprise. 

"Why are you still here Evans?"

"I just wanted to talk to you..." 

"There's nothing to talk about." He turned his back to her and began to walk away. 

Lily could feel her own anger rising, her cheeks flushing with irritation. 

"Potter! You come back here and let me explain. I don't care if I have to put you into a Full Body Bind but you are going to listen to me!" 

James stopped, surprised at the force of Lily's anger. He turned back towards her, the anger in his eyes replaced by some kind of deeper hurt. 

Lily faltered slightly at the change in his expression.

"Say whatever you need to say then..." 

"I didn't mean it. None of it. I don't hate you and I haven't for a long time - maybe never." 

"Really? ... because it really seemed like you meant it." James' voice had a hard, mocking edge that caused Lily to shiver. 

"Don't pretend like you don't know that I didn't mean it. I never would have toyed with you like that, I never would have pretended to like you and then laughed about it behind your back." Lily sighed, "You don't know how hard it is for me to even admit to myself that there's a possibility that I like you and Alice kept interrogating me about you and it just came out. It was just a natural thing for me to say."

"So, it's a natural thing for you to say you hate me?"

Lily wanted to strangle him. It figured that James Potter would latch onto the wrong part of her speech. 

"It used to be. It isn't anymore... You've changed." 

James shook his head sadly. "The guy that stands before you was always inside the one you hated so much. You just never gave him a chance... so maybe you're the one who changed." 

Lily's lip curved into a smile 

"How about we agree that we both changed and call it even."

The corner of James' mouth twitched. "Agreed."

Lily's heart pounded as she took a step towards James closing the distance between them. It was time to prove that she was worthy of the noble house of Gryffindor. 

Slowly, tentatively she reached out and laced her fingers through James' larger ones. 

James' eyes widened in shock but his lips curved into a wicked smirk. 

"It's not going to be easy, you know," Lily mused, "We have a lot of history." 

"We can do it," James replied confidently. 

"I'm going to have to reconcile the boy who turned my hair green in first year with the one standing next to me... and you're going to have to forget about the fact that I rejected you more times than Lockhart melted his cauldron in Potions." 

"You did reject me a lot." 

Lily smiled. "I take it that you accept my apology then?" 

"You didn't exactly apologise." James pointed out. 

"I was skirting around it." Lily replied, smirking.

" I accept your hand instead." 

Lily let out a giggle."We're not getting married you twit!"


	10. Dazed and Confused

Author's note:

Hi guys! If any of you are still reading I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. I've been so wrapped up in real life that I forgot that poor Lily and James still haven't gotten together properly, and who am I to deny them happiness?

All the reviews and 'favourites' that I've gotten lately inspired me to keep going with this story and I'm so glad that I did. Lily and James are so much fun to write and I hear their voices so clearly. I want a guy like James!

Hope you all enjoy this newest installment of _The Things You Do To Me_ as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think.

Sroka

Lily woke late the next morning. After everything that had happened, she had been so exhausted that she hadn't even bothered to pull the scarlet hangings closed around her four-poster bed.

She was paying for her laziness now. The cold, pale rays of late-November sun streaming through the windows had woken her. Lily turned away from the window, burying her face in her pillow, in an attempt to fall asleep again. She curled up into a ball beneath the several layers of thick woolen blankets that covered her bed. Her breathing began to slow and she had almost managed to fall asleep once more, when the events of the previous night came back to her.

Her eyes popped open and she sat bolt upright. Lily wasn't completely sure what had happened but she knew that things had changed. She had apologised to James and one thing had led to another until she ended up holding the idiot's hand. A thrill of pleasure went through her as she contemplated the feeling of his large, warm hand wrapped around hers, but her contentment was quickly extinguished.

Lily frowned. What had that gesture meant to him? She knew that by taking James' hand in hers, she had wanted to show him, that over the past few months, she had come to care for him. A lot.

He could make her relax like no one else. When she was with James, she was no longer the uptight Head Girl, afraid of anything less than perfection. She felt natural and carefree... and happy. He made her laugh, he was smart and sweet and he was incredibly attractive. There was simply no point in denying it any longer. Lily flushed slightly at her moment of shallowness, but it was true. James Potter was all lean muscle, artistically tousled hair and sparkling hazel eyes. She dared any girl to see the guy and _not _imagine throwing him to the ground and snogging him senseless. She giggled nervously as that very image entered her own mind. It was exceedingly distracting but Lily was determined to keep her mind occupied with her current predicament.

Apart from Alice and Vera, James was probably her closest friend. Last year she would have scoffed at the idea, that she could consider James Potter as a friend, but so many things had changed in the last few months. She could only imagine the horror that past-Lily would feel at her more-than-friendly sentiments towards James.

The idea of going down to breakfast and seeing the object of her thoughts sent jolts of fear, stabs of panic and bolts of nervous excitement through her body. Her skin tingled as though an electric current had been applied to it. Adrenaline coursed through her veins and Lily couldn't remember a time when she had felt so completely and utterly alive.

She left the empty dormitory, annoyed that her friends hadn't bothered to wake her but also grateful to be left alone with her thoughts on the long walk down to the Great Hall.

As she entered the Entrance Hall, a tanned muscular arm slipped beneath her arm, startling her out of her reverie.

She didn't have to look up to know who the arm belonged to.

_James._

"You were waiting down here for me." She kept her eyes trained ahead of her as they walked arm in arm.

"A little full of yourself, Evans," James scoffed, "James Potter waits for no man."

Lily smothered a laugh. "So, how long did you wait?"

"About ten minutes...give or take half an hour," he admitted ruefully.

Lily couldn't help it. She looked up at him, a grin playing across her lips as she took in his sheepish expression.

"James Potter waits for women then?" she quipped.

"Just for you," he countered.

Lily's grin widened. It was so easy to fall back into the pattern of their easy banter and she loved every minute of it. How could she have been worried about how she should act around James now that she had basically admitted that she might sort of, kind of like him?

This was James Potter, her friend. Why had she expected awkwardness?

James grinned back at her, then his manner turned more serious.

"As much as I enjoy flirting with you -"

"_This_ isn't flirting Potter," Lily interrupted.

"Pish posh, call it what you will," he continued, waving off her interruption "I -"

Lily sputtered with laughter. "Did you just say 'pish posh'?" she wheezed.

"I did," James remarked seriously.

Lily dissolved into a fit of giggles. Hearing Potter use a phrase like 'pish posh' was just ridiculous.

James glowered at her in mock-irritation. "Evans! I have something serious to ask you!"

Lily nodded, attempting to compose herself.

"I'm listening," she responded, arranging her features into a mask of complete seriousness.

James observed her for a moment. When he decided that she was done laughing at him, he finally spoke. "Would you like to spend the next Hogsmeade weekend with me?"

Lily halted. "'Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Not exactly," he replied, "That never goes well for me."

"Oh." Lily was surprised at how disappointed she felt at his words. Who would have known?

"I was thinking more of a romantic rendezvous for two."

Lily's heart lifted.

"We'll skip Madam Puddifoot's of course," James continued, as though he had no idea of the feelings that his words were evoking.

"So, what do you say Evans?" He looked suddenly nervous... and it was adorable.

Lily's face broke into a broad grin. "I say yes"

"What?"

"You're too young to have hearing problems, James," she teased. "I agreed to go to Hogsmeade with you."

"You did?" James' face still held a stunned expression. Lily was beginning to wonder whether he'd been Confunded. It wasn't like James to be so slow on the uptake.

Lily cocked any eyebrow. "Did you really expect another answer?"

"Well, no," he replied, a slow smile spreading across his handsome face, "I imagined that you would say yes, but it feels different to hear you actually say the words. I think I'm still subconsciously expecting you to hex me."

"Well if you insist..."

James smirked in response. They were getting closer to the Great Hall.

Lily stiffened. It was easy to be with James when it was just the two of them, but she couldn't imagine going into the Great Hall with him, let alone with his arm looped through hers. It was too soon. She wasn't ready for the curious looks or the exclamations of "I knew it!" that would accompany the discovery that she and James were... whatever they were.

As if noticing her discomfort, James slipped his arm out from under hers and stopped walking. Lily felt the loss of the warm pressure acutely, but she did not reach out to take back his hand.

"I'll see you in Arithmancy?" he asked, his smile not reaching his eyes.

Lily could only nod. James hesitated for a moment before taking a step towards her. He raised his arm and gently pushed back a strand of hair which had fallen free from her bun.

Lily closed her eyes at the contact.

"That should tide you over until Saturday," he whispered, before disappearing into the Great Hall.

Lily could still feel the heat of his hand on her face. She traced the soft skin of her temple and sighed. She highly doubted that that brief touch would be enough to hold her over until their 'romantic rendezvous'. God, he was damn good at this. She smiled to herself before stepping into the Great Hall.

Lily found her friends almost immediately and smiled her greetings. Alice and Vera could sense the change in their friend. Over the past few days Lily had been moody and restless and snapped at everyone. She'd been in such a foul temper that even Alice had avoided her.

" 'Morning Lily," Vera chirped, "You're in a good mood today."

"I am," Lily agreed as she piled bacon onto her plate.

"You made up with Potter then?" Alice asked tentatively.

"James has nothing to do with it," Lily protested, her cheeks flushing.

"She called him 'James'," Alice squeeled, "That means they've made up!"

"We were never fighting!" Lily answered.

"So you haven't been in a bad mood all week because Potter wasn't speaking to you?" Vera baited her, a wicked grin on her face.

"I was not in a bad mood!" Lily countered.

Vera shook her head. "...You made a first year cry."

"I did not!"

"You really did," Alice agreed solemly.

Resigned, Lily slumped in her chair. "I'm sorry."

Alice's eyebrows shot up. "Did Lily just apologise?" She turned to Vera, concern painted all over her face, "Check her temperature!"

Lily paused. She didn't think that she could shock her friends any more, so she might as well get it over with. "I'm going to Hogsmeade on Saturday with James."

Alice's fork hit the table with a loud clatter. "James... Potter?"

"Yes," Lily grinned, feeling immediately lighter after her confession.

"Lily... and James Potter. The world as we know it has come to an end," Vera proclaimed dryly.


	11. Even the Strong

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**A quick update this time. Once I get started I can't seem to stop writing and I have mid-terms next week so there might be a couple more updates quite soon. Exams are a sure-fire way to cure writers block.**

**Enjoy!**

Sometimes when James Potter was nervous he paced around the room like a prisoner stuck in his tiny cell. When he worried, he raked his fingers through his jet black hair attempting to flatten the unruly strands.

At this very moment he was doing both of these things.

"Seven years! It took _seven_ years for Lily to finally agree to go out with me! The pressure is on. I _have _to impress her. This date has to be extraordinary. It has to be amazing. Better than amazing. Better than any other date she's ever been on -"

"Thanks to you, she hasn't been on any other dates...so the bar isn't set too high," Sirius interjected.

James barely even heard his friend. His voice was creeping towards hysteria, as he strode across the room, one hand buried in his hair, tugging at his locks. " - this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I've waited seven years. I can't waste my chance."

Remus sighed. "Sit down James, you're making Peter dizzy with all that pacing."

"I can't. I'm too nervous," James argued, but he plopped down onto his bed anyway.

"There's no reason to be nervous," Remus replied, his voice calm and soothing, "You hang out with Lily all the time. She obviously enjoys your company, so there's no reason for all that pacing."

"She's been to Hogsmeade so many times. There's nowhere new that I can take her. There's nothing new that I can show her," James whined.

"I'm sure I can think of some new things that you can show her," Sirius said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Why am I friends with you?" James muttered under his breath.

"Because I'm handsome and charming?" James opened his mouth to reply but Sirius cut him off. "Honestly James, you are completely overthinking this. Lily agreed to go out with you,_ not_ because she wants you to take her somewhere new and exciting-"

James opened his mouth to interrupt once more.

" - Close that mouth of yours, Prongs. Padfoot's speaking now and if you don't keep your gob shut, I'll shove one of Wormtail's socks into it."

James mouth slammed shut. As nice as Peter was, the poor guy had a bit of a foot odour problem and James didn't want his sock anywhere near his mouth, or any part of him really.

Sirius continued his rant. Someone had to make his idiot friend understand. "Lily obviously likes you. A lot. Enough to overlook the hundreds of stupid things you did to get her attention over the past few years. If she didn't like you, she wouldn't have agreed to go to Hogsmeade. It's as simple as that. God knows the girl never had a problem rejecting you."

"But-"

Sirius sighed. When it came to Lily, James was incredibly thick. "Prongs, you've already impressed her. You have nothing to worry about. Just try to have fun."

When he was finally done with his monologue, Sirius cast his gaze around the room. His friends' gaped at him in silence.

"What?" He suddenly felt uncomfortable.

Remus was the first to recover. "That was probably the most sensible thing that has come out of your mouth in a while."

Sirius coloured. "I can be sensible. Why is that so surprising?"

"Because you so often choose not to be?" Remus quipped.

Sirius shrugged. "Being sensible is rarely fun. It would have been more fun to watch Prongs struggle while occasionally offering up an unsavory and unhelpful comment, but because he's my best mate, I felt as though I had to take pity on him and tell him the truth."

James grinned at his best friend and felt an overwhelming desire to hug him, but he refrained, because men didn't do such things.

"Also, I don't think Lily would have been very happy if Prongs turned up half-bald," Sirius added.

And with that the desire for hugging and mushy sentimentality was gone. "I am not going to end up bald!" James glowered.

"Are you nervous about Hogsmeade?" Alice asked excitedly.

"Why would I be nervous?" Lily asked, "I see James all the time."

If there was one thing that Lily had learned over the past few days, it was that even after she agreed to go on a date with him, James was still the same James and there was nothing to worry about.

She was excited about their 'romantic rendezvous' tomorrow. She couldn't wait to spend some more time with him and do it somewhere other than a darkened hallway... not that _that_ didn't hold a certain appeal.

"It's different. Dates are always different. " Alice continued as if Lily hadn't spoken. "What if he tries to kiss you?"

_I certainly hope he does_, Lily thought to herself but she was prudent enough not to voice the idea.

"I bet James is nervous," Vera mused.

Lily scoffed. "James is _never _nervous. He has more confidence than ten guys put together."

"You've rejected him for seven years straight, Lily. How could he not be nervous?" Vera remarked solemnly.

"Since when did you become the expert on Potter's feelings?"

"Sirius may have let a few things slip," Vera said, "but you didn't hear it from me."

"Of course not," Lily replied knowingly, " but I still cannot believe that a date with me could make the great James Potter nervous."

"Well, he has been in love with you for years," said Alice, "I'm sure he wants to impress you."

"He's already impressed me!" Exasperation began to colour Lily's tone. "And I wouldn't have said 'yes' if I didn't already like him!"

"Sirius told him as much."

"Sirius is smarter than he appears," Lily muttered darkly.

Alice cleared her throat. "Ladies" she announced, nodding at Vera, "I would like to bring to your attention the fact that precisely 1 minute ago, Lily Evans confessed that she 'already liked' James Potter."

Lily rolled her eyes at her friends. "Shut up before the rest of Hogwarts finds out." She still wasn't ready for everyone to know that she had finally succumbed to Potter's charm, as he always said she would.

Lily frowned slightly, her brow creasing in concentration. James had made her feel so completely comfortable in his presence, that she couldn't fathom the idea that he might be nervous about Saturday. She was surprised to find that the idea of James feeling anxious and uncomfortable bothered and upset her more than it should. Lily didn't want him to feel anything less than deliriously happy about the prospect of their first date. She didn't know why Potter's happiness mattered so much to her, but she was determined to put him at ease before Saturday. She brightened at the prospect of their shared Head Duties that night.

Surely she could say something to make him less nervous about the following day, to make him feel as calm and excited as she did.

They had been patrolling the third floor for the past 20 minutes and Lily had not yet said anything. She had chattered about classes and how swamped she felt by the amount of work that was required for NEWTs. She had even brought up Quidditch, musing about Gryffindor's chances of winning the Quidditch Cup, but James had been uncharacteristically taciturn.

Her observations and questions were greeted with monosyllables and long drawn-out silences. It was almost painful to watch charming, confident James Potter reduced to this.  
They were climbing up the stairs leading to the Astronomy tower when Lily finally decided that enough was enough.

She cleared her throat loudly. "James, is something wrong?"

James almost jumped. Her words had startled him. "What? Oh no. Fine. I'm fine."

Lily shot him a sharp look. "You don't seem fine."

"I am!" he said, pasting a weak smile onto his face. "Great. I feel great."

Lily sighed. He was _impossible._ "James? Are you by any chance worried about tomorrow?"

James stiffened. His muscles grew tense and that poor excuse for a smile slid off his face. "Why would you ask me that?"

Lily's voice grew more gentle. "I'm not saying that you are nervous, but I just wanted to let you no that you don't need to be."

"I'm not."

"Good," she took a step towards him, resting her fingers gently on his rough cheek, "because I'm not."

James' eyes widened and Lily wasn't sure whether that was because of her words or her touch. "You're not?"

Lily shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Because I know we'll have a great time tomorrow." She slid her hand up through his hair until it rested behind his ear. "And do you know how I know this, Potter?"

James shook his head.

Lily laughed softly. "We _always_ have a good time together. Even when you're teaching me Arithmancy." She paused for a second before continuing, "I like you James. You should know that by now."

A slow smile spread across his features as looked deeply into her eyes. Lily was frightened by the intensity of the moment but she didn't pull her gaze away from his smouldering hazel eyes. She didn't know how her attempt at soothing Potter's fears had turned into such a tender moment but somehow she knew that if she pulled away, he'd think she was lying. For someone so confident, he could be so insecure. Instead she ended the moment by pasting a bright smile onto her face and removing her hand from his face before sliding it into his hand and tugging him along from corridor to corridor until they finally finished their patrol.


End file.
